Doubt & Anger: When should you confess them?

[@catherinelewans]

Very helpful. Thank you, Father!

[@RisenChristDenver]

You are very welcome!

[@susan5301]

Thanks for the explanation Fr. Scott! ✝

[@SparklyHeart-j7w]

😌Thank you & I would like to ask this nice priest about the validity of a priest (I recently moved to a small town with only 1 Catholic church and no other for more than 100 miles away) who REQUIRES me & everyone else to ONLY do FACE to FACE CONFESSIONS in an open room (with his Mass clothes hanging on walls & other distractions on shelves etc.) inside the church, even though there’s a functional Confessional booth also inside the church near the same room. I was so uncomfortable and embarrassed. He was out of town for a while and the other visiting priest covering for him happily went into the Confessional booth couple weeks ago… so isn’t it wrong if this regular priest to insist that even women (I’m a middle aged woman) must do face to face confessions? I asked the priest if I could do confession INSIDE the private, more modest Confessional booth and this PRIEST BECAME ANGRY & AGITATED!😳 He snapped at me in an irritated manner and I felt miserably humiliated, it was shocking.😰I asked a man parishioner if this was “routine” for this priest and he indicated that nobody likes it and people are uncomfortable with it but apparently the ENTIRE CONGREGATION FEELS FORCED to do face to face confessions because this priest refuses to go inside the traditional Confessional booth!🥺 Should I write to the Bishop? I always thought face to face confessions were OPTIONAL and by request appointment of the parishioner voluntarily? I’m grateful for your help and advice, may Christ bless you.😌

[@RisenChristDenver]

Every priest and bishop is bound by Canon Law, and Canon 964 clearly states that confessions should be done in a proper confessional and that the screen should be available. I'll put the text of that canon below for your reference. I would suggest that notifying the bishop of this situation would be appropriate. Canon 964. §1 The proper place for hearing sacramental confessions is a church or oratory. §2 As far as the confessional is concerned, norms are to be issued by the Episcopal Conference, with the proviso however that confessionals, which the faithful who so wish may freely use, are located in an open place, and fitted with a fixed grille between the penitent and the confessor. [NB see Authentic Interpretation of canon 964 §2, 7.VII.1998] §3 Except for a just reason, confessions are not to be heard elsewhere than in a confessional.

[@laurar1100]

I’m grateful for the explanation, but I would’ve liked more information on when they become mortal sin. The title says “when should you confess them?”, and I thought this meant taking it to the confessional/mortal sin.

[@RisenChristDenver]

That's good feedback. Thank you. Of course, anything is a mortal sin when it fulfills the 3 criteria: 1) it has to do with grave matter, 2) we fully understood that it was a sinful, and 3) the act had full consent of the will. Fr Scott has a video dedicated to this topic of mortal sin here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKS7dqKfj9x9nq8

[@OneDropIsAllItTakes]

Father, I have bouts of doubt from time to time, which sometimes lead me to take off my brown scapular and start listening to protestant sermons. I would later feel bad about it and wear my scapular again and stop listening to protestant sermons. In my experience I wasn't doubting a particular doctrine or dogma in the church. It's more so coming from my feelings. My feelings change sometimes and I allow it to influence what I do. Have I committed a mortal sin in that case?

[@RisenChristDenver]

It sounds like battling something called religious scrupulosity. Since it can look different in different people, we would recommend that you chat with your local priest or a therapist about it. You can also find some good Catholic videos on KZbin which address this topic, which you might find helpful.

[@thebr5294]

I committed the sin of anger and avarice against my family and friends.

[@songofyeshua7845]

😁For this wise priest: if I’m a single woman who never married (engaged but I broke it off years ago) but if I possibly later **MARRY a DIVORCED Man… is that a Sin**?😬 i’m trying to think ahead by not wasting my time trying to.get know any divorced man and only looking for either a widowed or never married man.🤷🏻‍♀️ I know in the Bible it reads that “if a man marries a divorced woman, he commits adultery”, but I didn’t know if it was the other way around for women marrying a divorced man😳, and or if it just depends on why the man got divorced? 😌 Thank you for your kind help and God bless you.🙏😌

[@RisenChristDenver]

Good question! The Catholic Church presumes that every marriage (in the Church or not) is valid until proven otherwise. That's what the annulment process in the Church tries to determine for those who are divorced: was a permanent bond created by God the day these two particular people married? If the marriage is declared null, then there is the possibility of the individuals being free to seek marriage with someone else. So... It is not a sin for a Catholic to marry a divorced person so long as that person's previous marriage has been declared null (not permanently binding by God) through the annulment process and they are free to marry.

[@stargwynn1]

How does this work when you react in anger bc you have ptsd and are triggered? There is a lack of ability to completely use your reason as you are in right or flight

[@RisenChristDenver]

In order to be a mortal sin, the person must be choosing the thing with full knowledge and full consent of the will. The person you are describing probably lacks one or both of those things in the moment they are triggered. So their angry response would not rise to the level of mortal sin - but obviously the response of anger should still be worked on (through virtue, and probably with the help of a therapist). Thanks for the good question!

[@kxtsu6459]

The only one we confess and repent to is jesus christ only

[@RisenChristDenver]

Then how do we make sense of James 5:16 - “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”